4a Opinion Friday, September 29, 2000 For comments, contact Ben Embry or Emily Hughey at 864-4924 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com Perspective Logic lends intelligence to opinions throughout this semester you will have the opportunity to read many editorials throughout this semester you will have the opportunity to read many editors on the Kansan's opinion page. Some you'll agree with; some you'll think are off target. After reading an editorial, less clever students might shoot off letters to the editor purporting to agree or disagree in highly emotional language that will often not convince anyone of the validity of their opinion. you, however, know better than to submit worthless writings. Instead, you want your points to be lucid, forceful and well reasoned. Whether you are writing to agree or disagree, you'll need to use logic to strengthen your points and — equally important — to spot your opponent's faulty reasoning. Imagine you're a Logic Sheriff. Your quest is to uphold truth, and you do this by identify- migrations cials, speeches, editorials and everyday conversation. A good Logic Sheriff will recognize the following common fallacies: Argumentum Ad Hominem: Instead of proving anything about the issue, the arguer attacks people related to the issue; thus making an "argument directed at the man." "Evolution is a false idea. Only communists and atheists would believe it is true." Scott Kaiser columnist opinionkanan.com Argumentum Ad Ignorantiam: The arguer claims something must be true since it cannot be proven false, or false since it cannot be proven true. "You can't prove that angels don't exist. Thus, angels exist." Argumentum Ad Populum: The arguer attempts to win acceptance of an assertion by appealing to a large group of people. "Millions of people believe in creationism. Are you saving they are all idiots?" Cum Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc: Because two events occur at the same time, the arguer wrongly assumes that one caused the other. "The economy is healthy. Thus the President should be thanked for his efforts." The Slippery Slope Argument: One event is claimed to be the cause of other harmful events. No proof is given that the first event causes the other harmful events. "If we allow beer at football games, then we'll have to allow beer at the Jaybowl, and then more people will die as they stumble home from Fatso's." Fallacy of the Undistributed Middle: A similarity between two things is claimed, but the similarity is not explained. "Satanism is a type of religion. Christianity is a type of religion, so isn't Christianity a form of Satanism?" Argumentum Ad Antiquitatem: Tradition or old age make something right and good. "That the way it's always been. It's tradition!" Argumentum Ad Novitatem: Newness makes something better. Two words; The Lazer. Argumentum Ad Lazarum: One who is poor is more virtuous and thus more likely to be right. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Argumentum Ad Nauseam: Keeping in mind how many times 93.3 FM and 95.7 FM play the same song, this is a situation where one hopes an idea is accepted merely because it is repeated over and over again — often until one is nauseated. Bifurcation: Only two choices are given, when there are actually more than two choices. Why decide between the men's and ladies' room when you'd be perfectly content peeing on the wall — after all, its just Bullwinkle's. Red Herring: A distracting argument that diverts attention away from the main issue. Girlfriend: Why were you talking to that girl? Boyfriend (who kissed girl last night): She's just a friend from class. I can't believe you don't trust me. If we don't have trust, how can we have a relationship? Straw Man: A strategy where one misrepresents his opponent's argument in order to criticize it, the basis for most political campaigns. Now that you have a list of common fallacies, you can uphold truth and protect yourself from believing bogus information. Mount up, Loatic Sheriffs! Kaleer is a first year law student from Overland Park. U.S. STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE Chan Lowe / TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES Heard on the Hill Should Lawrence create bike lanes around the city? "Definitely. Sometimes it is scary. There are small roads and a lot of traffic." Andrea Benedick Beloit sohomore "Some people who live close to campus rely on bikes for transportation, instead of buying parking passes." Brendon Huttmann Olathe senior "There are a lot of students who ride bikes and I don't want them on the street with me." Jeff Krone Overland Park junior "The bikers are on the road or the sidewalk and if you get behind them it sucks." Hilliary Sherwood Independence freshman Perspective Liberal reveals himself H I. My name is John.I am a liberal,and I vote for Democrats.Only in this day and age does such a statement sound like a The words "liberal" and "Democrat" can, in many circles, be dirty words. I feel it is my duty as a reader and as a citizen to explain why I cling to them. Recent trends in politics threaten to erode our civil liberties, and the Democratic party is the loudest voice opposing them. Background: I am opposed to capital punishment because I would rather have innocent people killed by criminals than by the government. I believe women should be able to decide whether to have an abortion. If the government has the power to tell a woman she can't get an abortion, it also has the power to tell her she must. China's government has that power, and I don't see many of us flocking to live there. America's political system is built on the limitation of power because when the government has too much power, scary things can happen. Main point: I vote for Democrats because I can't stand the moralistic overtones of the Republicans. Many conservatives feel that the moral fabric of this country has gone to shreds. Republicans John Audlehelm guest columnist opinion@kanaan.com know tins, so they give speeches claiming to act in the name of Jesus Christ and "traditional family values" — all for the sake of a few votes. Wake up. If politicians are on their bully pulpelling people they should live their lives a certain way, those politicians are a step away from making people live their lives a certain way. My friends say, "Oh, but they're just giving a campaign speech. They're not talking about making a law forcing those values on people." In addition to limiting the power of the government, the Founders also designed our system to limit the power of overbearing majorities, no matter how "right" or "morally upstanding" they say they are. (Ironically, many Republicans aren't.) Too bad. In America, you don't get to do that. Political liberalism means, in the purest sense of the phrase, that people should be able to decide things for themselves. I am proud to be a liberal, and I'm willing to speak my voice to prove it. In this country we have had it so good for so long that we forget how dangerous a powerful government can be. And a government that considers itself morally right is the most dangerous kind there is. "Since when did the government get the authority to tell me what I can and can't do?" I said to a conservative woman in my political self-help circle. The ultimate tragedy is that many conservatives don't realize the implications of what their politicians are doing. "Oh, I know, it's just awful," she said. I most certainly is. Editorial Expanding curriculum aids students School of Architecture should expand program to graduate level. The School of Architecture is considering changing its emphasis from an undergraduate program to a program that concentrates on its students obtaining graduate degrees. By doing so, the school will offer its students more diversity in the courses they pick and give them more direction in their academic careers. This is a good direction for the school to take because it will help students. Audiehaim is a Des Moines senior in journalism. The move to a graduate program does not cut undergraduates out of the system, although some argue otherwise. Instead of working four or five years toward a bachelor's degree then going on to graduate school, students would take the same core courses and take an extra year to complete a graduate degree. In many cases, the graduate and undergraduate requirements are the same for core courses. By expanding the program to include a graduate degree, students will save time by not retaking the core curriculum. In addition to these courses, a student will have the freedom to study other areas outside of architecture. Gaining exposure classes outside of architecture benefits the student both professionally and personally. The major benefit to a university education, as opposed to a professional college, is the diversity of courses. Students experience personal growth as they are exposed to more than just their chosen profession. All knowledge is useful either as inspiration or just to create a well-rounded person. A diverse education also can offer greater opportunities to professional architects. In addition to the necessary architectural skills they find at the University, students can develop ancillary job skills that come from the study of foreign languages, psychology, communications or any other discipline. There is a growing national trend for architectural schools to move to a stricty graduate program. The University of Kansas should join this trend to help its students in school and in their professional careers. Brett Watson Brett Watson for the editorial board Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed. To read more, go to www.kansan.com. The general population of Kansas really doesn't care if females menstruate together. - - The front-page news Wednesday was pretty weak. - I find it funny that the school charges $40 for non-student tickets, when only half the stadium gets filled. Maybe if they lowered the prices, more people would go to the games. I don't think the article on Mr. Wong was racial. You see that type of thing on SNL, Howard Stern and John Dally, I find that stuff funny, and they should do more of it. - Why do people think that being a virgin is a result of a religious cult or tyrannical parents? Do they ever think it might be a smart choice being a virgin? It doesn't mean we've lived our entire lives in a closet either. People shouldn't stereotype. It just shows how stupid they are. 图 If you're really going to have an article on the freshman experience, freshmen at GSP-Corbin, Oliver and Naismith should have been included, not just Daisy Hill and scholarship halls. Maybe the reason all liberal columns are appearing in the paper is because KU's ideology is liberal. I'd like to see the conservative right do something to make news on this campus for once. 图 John McCool is a breath of fresh air to this campus. He keeps the plague of the liberal stench off this campus. I advise the liberal stench of the Kansan to publish more of John McCool's columns in the paper. Go George W. Bush. 图 If roommates' periods isn't front page news, then I don't know what is. If we don't dissect rodents and amphibians, then what, pray tell, would we dissect? 图 Seth Jones might have an alcohol problem. now to submit letters and guest columns Letters: Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and hometown if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions. Guest columns: Should be double- spaced typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photo- graphed for the column to run. All letters and guest columns should be e-mailed to opinion@kansan.com or submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer Flint Halt. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Ben Embry or Emily Hughes at 864-4924. 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